Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1887-01-26
A Winter lSketching "Trip on the B. & o.,
from Strasburg, Va, to Chicago.
[For the SrAuNroN SpEcTAroR. l

A Winter tSketching- "Trip on the B. & o.,
from Strasburg, Va, to Chicago.
[For the STAuNToN SPEcTAToR.1
SrRAsBURe, VA, gath of JAM, 1887.
We left Strasburg, quite pleasant party,
! one of whom was Mr.. A. Il. Snyder, the
brilliant young Editor of the Strasburg
News. At Winchester, we heard some
rather timid cheering and inquired who was
on the train. "Oh! that is for Gen'l Phil.
Sheridan; there he sits in the rear of the
car with Senator Don Cameron" and
glancing back, we saw the man who, in the
terrible war days, wrought such havoc in
this beautiful Valley of Virginia. After
all these years, he had come back to visit
the scenes of his battles, and the mad ride
he made from Winchester to Strasburg.
But healed as are now the old wounds of
fraternal strife, kindly as the North and
South have grown to feel towards each 9TH
er, the name of this one man is associated
with SO much anguish in the memories Of
the people here, that even the most chris
tisn forgiveness cannot obliterate the pain,
and the tour of Renaissance was kept a
quiet one. On the train, also, was the cour-
| teous travelling passenger agent of the B.
& o., Mr.. G. E. Dudrow, who gave me
much valuable information for my sketch
ing-trip as to trains and stepping places, by
which I was enabled to get the greatest
number of subjects for pictures with the
least loss of time.
Summer-painting in the woods and fields,
living with beautiful nature, and quietly
taking in her teaching is delightful; but
there is charm all its own in Winter
Sketching-trip, along railroad, that is like
nothing else. The wild, bare beauty of the
verdureless fields, the gaunt- grandeur of
the trees, their skeleton structure revealed
as they stand up against the Winter-sky
stripped Of their covering of foliage, the
glorious opportunity to study their anato-
my, is to be had only in Winter, and there
is something inspiring to the quick
grasp of the spirit and form of these
studies, in the swift rush of the train
that brings them suddenly into view,
the getting out and capturing the beautiful
prey-and then the swift rushing away
again after the iron horse that fears moth
ing. but plunges on into whatever may be
in the way; needing no hand but that of it's
master. the Engineer; but so skillfully
handled by these brave men, into whose
hands so many thousands of human lives
are daily entrusted, and daily delivered I'D
in safety at their journeys end! The acct
dents that are given with all their details of
pain and peril in the newspapers from time
time, serve only to prove how great is the
| care of these modestly heroic lives, that
hold our own in their faithful keeping.
And SO in its own peculiar enjoyment, the
Sketching- trip went on through the beauti-
full country traversed by the B. & O., till
Chicago is reached, and the splendid opal
mer House" received me under its roof I
had never stopped at this House before, and
did SO now only through an unforeseen &C.
currence, but its splendid management in
terested me so that I made some inquiries,
and was told that this great typical Ameri-
can Hotel has, on an average, 500 employ
ees, and during the big conventions, had
housed 2 500 guests, making 5000 people to
be fed per day. The male employees wear
| the uniform of the House. The rooms are
well furnished and appointed, and the Eec-
trio lighting is SO perfect that guests can
sit in any part of the large rotunda and read
as by daylight The restaurant is famous,
and the kitchen, the largest in the world,
and under the charge of Mr.. Charles Mat
thews, a chief who has catered to thousands
of good livers. The laundry is equally
wonderful, and turns out each day Il, 900
pieces of house-linen, and $3.50 day of
| other washing. The provisions. so care
fully selected by the buyer. Mr.. N B. Cla-
u
psrature of 35 degrees all the year round,
and the care and magnificent arrangements
for ensuring splendid table and perfect
cleanliness in all parts of the big house are
wonderful. l had no conception of it until
| CHANGED to enquire ans; was cautiously
shown through the House. 1 shouldn't
like to take the place of the head house
keeper for a single day, though proud that
tConaan can do what Miss Curtis does so
quietly and we'll. At this time, when the
House was not in its fullest tide of business,
one of the items of its preparation for the
Spring was 3S painters at work, renovating
and decorating the rooms in most artistic
taste. At the head of the dining room ser
vice is the .iovial veteran, known as 'sChar-
! lie Jordan" familiar to Western travellers.
And the great ability of the office-force is
felt, if not understood, by those whose COM
fort SO largely depends on the quick COM
| prehension of the various needs of the ar
irving guests.
Since the withdrawal of Mr.. Palmer Mr..
Paul E. Low has entire control of the House,
| with assistant manager, Mr.. A. P. Lusk
Mr.. Copeland Townsend and Mr.. Frank
Brobst, the well known clerks, seem to see
| at glance just what each new conner needs,
| and to find means in the vast caravansary
of pride to me, was to find that the counting
department of the Hotel is conducted en-
| tirely by women, whose wonderful success
has marked a new era in the business his
| tory of this country-exploding the old idea
| that women are not as capable as men of
filling the various honorable positions of life.
The architectural beauties of the house
its magnificent ppointments-the artistic
arrangements of the grand promenades, par
lors, and magnificent boudoirs, cannot be
treated with justice by the pen; but must be
seen by the cultivated eye to be fully real
lied and appreciated in all their beauty and
grandeur. Altogether, the information
gained by my chance inquiry, gave me a
new comprehension of the tremendous abil.
ity required to manage well one of these
enormous Hotels that are regarded all over
the world as peculiarly American institu-
tion. In the history of the future, what an
honored place will be held by this wonder
ful young Republic, only little over hum
bred years old, and with such marvellous
energy.
Hoping that Art might be one of its
browning honors, and that our ewn might
have share in it, I visited such private
and public Art collections and studios as
were available, under the kind guidance of
one of the most influential of the directors
of Chicago's annual Art Expositionse that
in his own house being one of the finest;
and [ felt that in whatever was done by the
America of the day in the region of Art, Chi
cago would hold an hOnored place, and by
her generous patronage would help to foster
her own country's Art, as many Of the bet
ter works of American artists now find a
place in the collections of her amateurs. At
the fine new Union Club House with it's
rich-looking furnishings in old oak, I saw
some fine paintings, and also at the Gale
ries OF the Art-dealers, especially at o. Bri-